Doctor Who Comics #2.1 Missy

Doctor Who Comic #2.1: Missy

Titan Comics 2021

Written by Jody Houser

Illustrated by Roberta Ingranata

Coloured by Enrica Eren Angiolini

Flats by Shari Chankhamma

Lettered by Comicraft’s Richard Starkings

On the 50 anniversary of the debut of the Doctor’s deadliest adversary, Missy wages war on the Third and Twelfth Doctors! Can they stop her from executing her lethal plot?

If things tend to get all timey wimey with the Doctor then you are in for one hell of agonising treat with Missy here. I thought I was going to get a headache but to be honest I don’t think anyone could have done it any better than Jody is doing right here. I found myself amused and annoyed and flabbergasted all at the same time as we see her go through this issue. Either she really is a super genius or she’s just a master of manipulation or simply a crazy ass bitch who gets extremely lucky time and again. This whole issue feels like it’s a setup for the story and we’re not entirely sure what is really going on and if what she’s revealed thus far is true then okay but how can anyone trust Missy with anything that comes out of her mouth?

I like the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented in such an exciting manner. The character development here is utterly amazing and you really do have to experience it to fully understand what I am talking about because just listening to the way she speaks is more than enough for anyone to get the tenacity and voraciousness she’s written with. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story we continue to get caught up in this with each panel on each page in ways that stupendous.

I like how we see this being structured and while the layers are there we aren’t really quite sure what they mean yet or where they are going but it’s like a lure to keep us on the hook as it were and it does so most effectively. I really like how everything is working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it works to constantly moving the story forward.

I love the interiors here and while Missy does come across as some thrift shop homeless Mary Poppins with the way Roberta and Enrica make it work like you wouldn’t believe. The linework is stunning and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail work just elevates this to a whole new level of awesome. That we see backgrounds done like they are and how they work within the composition of the panels to bring us depth perception, a sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the story is done magnificently. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show such a masterful eye for storytelling. The colour work is gorgeously rendered as well. The colours that deonte her arrival in those geometric patterns blew me away. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is so beautifully laid down.

This goes far above and beyond whatever it was I was hoping for when it came to this issue. She kooky, vibrant full of panache and flair and there’s something to completely and utterly off-kilter about her that makes her totally likeable to boot. Once upon a time The Woman would have proven his greatest adversary but Missy is definitely in a league all her own and if it weren’t for these women we might have forgotten that.